Their names are Glam Wedding Pink, Curcuma Sun, Royal Pearl Black or Prince of Bengal – to name just a few of the exceptional rice varieties that Lotao has in its range alongside other specialties. The food products are imported, in some cases refined, packaged, assembled, picked and shipped. To ensure everything runs smoothly, the company has been working with the winweb-food ERP system for a good six months.

At the Lotao administration office in Berlin, managing director Stefan Fak brings all the threads together. This is where the processes are controlled and, depending on capacity, distributed to the company's own operation in Ribnitz-Damgarten or external service providers. "There are strong price fluctuations for our specialties, so before placing the order we obtain the current prices from different exporters", explains Fak. Only then is the rice ordered via the ERP system in the respective national currency, depending on delivery condition, availability and price, and with the Suppliers invoiced. Once the food arrives in Germany, it is booked in goods receipt in winweb-food by batch and best-before date. Specifications and certificates are already stored in the system for this purpose.

At the same time go Orders via the company's own online shop, from wholesale and retail but also by telephone, fax, EDI order or email and are recorded by the employees. This means that the Production planned directly in the ERP system, raw materials, packaging materials and finished products ordered and/or transferred to storage at the various service providers, and the picking orders distributed. “We serve around 3,000 customers from wholesale and retail as well as private customers from the online shop and have to coordinate 60 finished products and around 500 raw materials and packaging materials for this purpose,” says Fak.

If the production orders for the individual service providers have been created, they are automatically transmitted to the respective companies. The respective processor reports item batches and quantities to Lotao in order to ensure seamless traceability for the organic certification. This means that the Production order complete, is completed and only then is the goods available in the system. Service providers with system access use a rapid storage entry screen in winweb-food, in which only the orders relevant to them can be selected and booked in. Based on stored recipes, production orders are created, which are booked in goods preparation and made available for further processing.

The finished specialties are finally in the ERP system with Batch numbers and best before date managed and packed into customer-specific assorted cartons and displays, before the orders are processed virtually in the system and physically atStoragecan be forwarded. After picking, the delivery notes together with the associated Invoicesprinted or sent to customers as a file via electronic data transmission. For wholesale and retail, the system automatically creates NVE labels as shipping labels.

In winweb-food, the Quality assuranceDetailed inspections are defined, which are independently documented and carried out within the process chain itself and ensure the high quality standards. “Quality assurance is now one of the biggest requirements in the food sector. Every processing step is monitored, including the origin of the raw goods fully documented and verifiable at any time”, says Winweb CEO Willi von Berg.
As an owner-managed, medium-sized company, the IT specialist Winweb has been developing and marketing ERP software for the food industry since 1997. User-oriented innovations and short response times to individual requirements are the focus. More than 250 customers trust in the high level of solution expertise. Lotao does too.

The Austrian Stefan Fak founded Lotao in Berlin in 2010. The company exclusively brings Asian rice varieties to the German-speaking market and aims to convey a distinctive lifestyle through the stories associated with them. The high-quality products are positioned in the gourmet food segment and are aimed at discerning customers who care about the quality and origin of food. The range has since been expanded to include coconut and jackfruit products, all of which are available via the company's own online shop, in specialty gourmet food stores, and through some wholesale chains.

www.lotao.com
www.winweb.de